Dealer commission or “rake”

Dealer commission, better known as the rake, is the small fee a poker room collects for every hand it hosts.

Because poker is player-versus-player, the casino has no built-in advantage the way it does in blackjack or roulette. Instead, it earns by skimming a modest amount from each pot, charging a timed seat rental, or adding a service surcharge to tournament buy-ins.

💡 The idea is simple: the venue supplies the tables, dealers, security, and streaming tech; the players supply the action; the house takes an agreed-upon cut and never needs to bet a chip of its own.

The three collection models you’ll meet at the tables

Most cash games follow a percentage-plus-cap formula — two to ten per cent is skimmed once the pot hits a minimum threshold, then the rake stops growing after a predefined ceiling, protecting high-stakes pots from runaway fees.

High-velocity short-deck and nose-bleed games often prefer a time charge: every thirty minutes each player contributes a flat amount, keeping the maths predictable.

Tournaments roll the same concept into the entry line—your buy-in might read “€100 + €10,” the extra ten covering dealer wages, floor staff, and the electricity that keeps the cards on camera.

“No flop, no drop”: the unwritten social contract

Many rooms honour a “no flop, no drop” rule. If the hand ends pre-flop — imagine an early shove that scares everyone away — the house waives the rake.

Players love it because blitz hands stay cheap; operators like it because the policy speeds up play and grows pot sizes that will be raked.

Why casinos choose rake over an edge

Rake keeps the house neutral and the game reputationally clean — regulators can audit a fixed fee far more easily than they can verify a mathematical margin. Revenue scales automatically with table activity: a busy €2/€5 night fills the coffers, a quiet afternoon costs less in staff and utilities.

Transparency is baked in, which is why licensing hubs from Malta to New Jersey require every room to publish its rake schedule alongside core terms such as the house edge and the role of the dealer.

How rake alters strategy and bankroll maths

At micro stakes a five-percent, uncapped rake can turn thinly profitable calls into mandatory folds, forcing tighter pre-flop ranges and heavier post-flop value betting.

Mid-stakes and high-stakes players worry less about the percentage than the cap; once the ceiling is reached, the relative cost of each additional chip tumbles.

Serious grinders chase loyalty deals and rakeback programmes because a twenty-to-forty-percent rebate can turn a marginal seat into a long-term moneymaker.

Data-driven optimisation for operators

If you run an iGaming room, calibration matters. Too much rake and recreational traffic melts away; too little and overheads devour profit.

Blask helps balance that equation:

• Blask Index* tracks real-time search demand, revealing whether a rake tweak boosts or blunts brand visibility → What is Blask Index?.
  
• Acquisition Power Score (APS)* shows whether newcomers deposit and play after a pricing change → APS FAQ.
• Competitive Earning Baseline (CEB)* benchmarks revenue potential against rivals → CEB FAQ.
  
  Cross-checking those signals lets operators raise or lower caps, advertise transparent fees, and prove they’re not silently taxing the action.

Key takeaways for players and rooms alike

Rake is poker’s silent participant and the house’s main paycheque. Typical cash-game commissions hover between three and ten per cent, tournament surcharges run anywhere from three to twenty-five, and “no flop, no drop” keeps lightning-fast hands cheap.

Understanding exactly how the fee is levied—percentage, cap, time charge, or buy-in add-on — lets players protect their win-rates and helps operators build tables that stay busy night after night.